Evermore
by kartronthepegasus
Summary: The Doctor thought he lost everything that day on Bad Wolf Bay and has been a ghost in his own life ever since, but when strange messages start appearing and strange events start happening the Doctor must figure out what's going on. And just maybe, he'll get back the one thing he truly wants in the universe.
1. Prologue

**Evermore**

**Disclaimer****\- I don't own anything from Doctor Who, everything belongs to BBC.**

**Hello, beautiful people! I know I am still working on my Doctor Who story 'Love Don't Roam' and I know it is a series rewrite –as will this on - but I had this idea about half way through the latest chapter of that story and decided to write it. **

**It is another series rewrite! Please forgive me. There will be way more changes to this version than my previous one and I hope you will enjoy it.**

**Since this is only a prologue it is very short. I just wanted to set up the base for the story. Please understand that. The rest of the chapters will be so much longer (similar to Love Don't Roam).**

**Please enjoy the story.**

* * *

**0-Prologue (Doomsday)**

Rose climbs out of the jeep and slowly makes her way out onto the beach, looking in every direction for that familiar, important person that she desperately wants to see. The very person who called her here. Her hand unconsciously reaches down to touch the silver bracelet around her left wrist.

She can smell the salt on the wind and the sound of the waves on the shore is soothing.

The strong breeze chills her to her bones and she hears as the rest get out of the jeep but she keeps searching the landscape for the one she desperately needs.

She moves toward the place that seems to be drawing her in still looking for that blue box she calls home but sees no sign of it.

When Rose finally reaches that spot that was drawing her a see through image of the Doctor appears, only confusing her more. She turns to face him.

"Where are you?" she asks, her voice shaking slightly.

"Inside the TARDIS." He answers simply, his tone heavy and his eyes dark with sadness. This troubles Rose greatly. This can't mean what she thinks it does. "There's one tiny gap in the universe left, just about to close and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a supernova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."

"…Goodbye…?" she whispers in disbelief, her heart shattering in her chest. _Her_ Doctor would never just give up. So why is he?

He nods his head.

"You look like a ghost." She says, denying the truth before her. Rose refuses to accept that this is goodbye. It _can't _be.

"Hold on."

He adjusts something on his sonic screwdriver and points it at something Rose can't see before becoming a solid form in front of her.

Rose takes a step closer and raises her hand towards his face, "Can I?"

"I'm still just an image. No touch." He answers, sounding as if he is about to cry but is holding the tears back, if only just barely... For her sake…

Rose on the other hand doesn't bother trying to stop the tears that leak down her cheeks.

"Can't you come through properly?" she asks, positive that nothing is impossible for her Doctor. He's done the impossible before. Why should now be any different?

"The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse." He says, his tone sounding as if he has been fighting not to do just that, rip the universe apart just to get to her.

Rose knows he can't put their personal desires above the safety of the multiverse, she knows that they can't be selfish, especially after everything they've sacrificed but she can't stop herself from asking, "So?"

He laughs knowingly, and a bit sadly. His normally energetic laugh sounding so broken to Rose's ears and it tears her heart apart even more.

"Where are we?" he asks suddenly making Rose blink in surprise. He's burning up a sun to say goodbye and he's wasting time making small talk? "Where did the gap come through?"

"We're in Norway."

"Norway, right." He says like he expected it.

More tears leak through Rose's eyes but she keeps her composure. "About fifty miles out of Bergen. It's called Darlig Ulv Stranden." She stumbles a bit over the Norwegian words but manages to get them out.

"Dalek?"

"Darlig." She corrects. "It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay."

Rose hears the sharp intake of breath the Doctor takes and tries to ignore the irony of that statement.

"How long have we got?" she asks, a small part of her accepting this may be the last time she ever sees the Doctor and if so, she is going to make the most of it.

"About two minutes."

"I can't think of what to say!" she exclaims. Well, so much for making the most of it.

He chuckles slightly, but the sound is still bitter before he finally seems to see the others standing by the jeep. "You've still got Mr. Mickey, then?"

"He's not you."

"But he's taking care of you?" he presses, his eyes even sadder at her words.

"…Yeah…" Rose replies honestly. Even after how horrible she had been to him Mickey is still here now and helping her in whatever way he can. "There's five of us now. Mum, dad, Mickey and the… the baby."

He looks at her with such hope and devastation that it breaks Rose's heart beyond anything she thought possible, so much she thinks it will never be whole again. In truth it won't since her heart belongs to the man before her and she's never going to see him again.

"You're not?" he gasps.

"No." she says with a shake of her head. "It's mum. Three months gone… More Tylers on the way."

He smiles halfheartedly at that, the hope now gone from his eyes as the truth of the situation catches up with them.

"And what about you, are you…?"

"Yeah, I'm back working at the shop." She says, not wanting to even think of what she would do with _that_ reality.

"Oh…" he says, not really sure what else he could say. "Good for you."

"Shut up! No, I'm not." She returns hotly but still brokenly. "There's a Torchwood on this planet. It's open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens."

"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth." He states proudly.

The way he says her name both melts her heart and breaks it at the same time. Saying her name like it is the most important thing in the multiverse and that nothing else matters to him. To think she will never hear him say her name again, to never hear his voice after this moment. The thought causes more tears to leak from her eyes.

"So many people died that day and you've gone missing." He continues, his famous gob taking over to try and hide his despair. "You're on a list of the dead. Yet here you are, living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have."

Rose, finally begins to break down, crying openly before him, not able to believe that this is how things will end between them. "Am I ever going to see you again?"

"You can't." he admits softly. She can see the devastation on his face and can practically hear his hearts breaking just as much as hers.

"What are you going to do?" she sobs.

"Oh, I've got the TARDIS. Same old life, the last of the Time Lords." He answers, putting on a brave face for her though she can see right through it.

"On your _own_?" Rose asks, devastated by the mere thought.

He simply nods, unable to say anything more. Not wanting to imagine travelling without Rose by his side.

"I…" she tries but can't say it. These words are so important and she had only said them once before though they both knew how deep they ran between them. "I love you."

He smiles brokenly, "Oh Rose."

The Doctor raises his left hand showing off the same silver band around his wrist as the one Rose wears and lays his palm flat.

Rose lifts her left hand as well hand holds it an inch from where his would be if he were truly here on the beach with her, her palm flat as well.

"_I love you… Always, my Rose. My wife. My universe." _He whispers in Gallifreyan, the tears finally leaking from his eyes.

Rose sobs once more. _"I love you so much."_ She whispers back.

He smiles brokenly at her. "I should say it in your language too… Never done that before… If this is my last chance to say it." He squares his shoulders but leaves his hand where it was, near Rose's. "Rose Tyler-"

But that's all he gets to say before he disappears from the beach and Rose collapses to the sand beneath her, sobbing uncontrollably as she lets the pain and grief engulf her. She barely notices when warm arms wrap around her, shielding her from the cold and offering the only comfort they could.

She sobs for what feels like hours and is lifted by Mickey and carried back to the jeep. Once everyone is back inside the vehicle Pete starts the drive back home. As they drive Rose can hear the others whispering amongst themselves since they believe she has fallen asleep and Rose stares out the window at the passing landscape.

Now that her sobs have stopped Rose comes to a new resolution. She isn't going to give up. She _will_ find her way back to her husband. She promised him forever and she is going to give it to him.

No matter what.

Rose doesn't notice the way her hand rests over her stomach protectively, her mind focused on other topics at the moment.


	2. The Runaway Bride

**Evermore**

**Disclaimer****\- I own nothing from Doctor Who. Everything belongs to BBC. I claim no ownership over anything in this story.**

**Hello beautiful people! Thank you for reading the first chapter and for the reviews I got. It means a lot to me. As I said, the first 'chapter' was just a short little opening to the story to help set the stage for what comes next so there wasn't much to it.**

**Also, just to say because I learned my lesson from last time, this story idea was inspired by hawkerin's Family Timeline Series, which is a great series that I enjoyed, so if the idea does seem familiar that is why but I am not copying that series (and I think I may have spoiled the plot a little bit, so sorry if that upsets anyone). I have my own ideas and will be going my own way with this story. So, yeah, just wanted to point that out in case anyone else noticed it. So, I am giving credit to hawkerin here for the original idea that inspired me.**

**Anyways, here we are with 'The Runaway Bride'. Now, I just want to say that I am not doing a complete rewrite of series three and four. Events basically play out the same as they did in the show though there will be some changes. I will only be posting the 'episodes' that are important to the plot of the story until we get to the main event, so to speak. There will be changes as I've said, and more than what is in 'Love Don't Roam' so rest assured with that. But, the next chapters are just going to be jumping to events that are important to this story and further the plot along.**

**Anyways, here is the chapter and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**1: The Runaway Bride**

The Doctor stands in the console room and wipes the tears from his eyes and cheeks as quickly as he can but they seem to be endless as he stares at the wall before him that only moments ago was the beach where his precious girl was standing, a universe away from him and out of his reach.

Her heartbroken face continues to replay in his mind as does her tearful confession though he had always known her feelings.

Standing there for what feels like an eternity his chocolate eyes darken as he comes to his decision and quickly races over to the console and opens one of the gratings underneath, throwing aside object after object as he searches desperately for what he's looking for, not caring about the mess he's making in the process.

"Ah hah!" he proclaims when he finally finds what he's looking for and pulls the book out from underneath the console and climbs back up, quickly flipping through the pages, absorbing every detail that is written on the page at a pace no one else could.

After reading it through twice and still not finding what he's seeking the Doctor growls in frustration, marches to the TARDIS door, yanking it open with more force than necessary and throws the manual into the fading super nova he had just used to say goodbye to his wife. Not even bothering to watch that he slams the door shut and storms back over to the console.

"If you won't help me, I'll do it myself!" he shouts as he tries in vain to get the time ship to do as he desires, the rotor flashing in protest as the TARDIS fights against him. "Stop that! We're going to get Rose back! I control all of time and space! I won't lose her like this!"

Still the TARDIS refuses to comply with his demands and no matter how hard he tries he is unable to get the TARDIS to travel through the void to the parallel universe. The Doctor lets out a roar of frustration and crumbles to the floor as tears leak down his cheeks – finally breaking down completely at the loss he's just suffered.

Once again he's alone in the universe and his precious girl is forever out of his reach.

After what feels like forever – which is saying something considering how long he's lived and everything he's been through – the Doctor rises to his feet and wipes the tears from his cheeks, dragging his fingers over the console slowly, mulling things over in his mind.

This is when something catches his attention. Standing on the other side of the console, closer to the door is a woman in a white wedding dress and red hair with her back to him as she looks around in confusion.

The Doctor's face also scrunches up in confusion, "What?"

The bride spins around and sends a seething glare the Time Lord's way.

"Who are you?!"

"But…" the Doctor stutters as he glances down at the console, trying to understand what's happening and how this stranger got inside his TARDIS – he's in no mood to be dealing with this kind of thing right now and very much wants to be left alone.

"Where am I?!"

"What?!" is all the Doctor can manage to say as his brain tries to process what's going on while at the same time he's trying to deal with his immense loss.

"What the hell is this place?!" the bride shrieks as she glares at the man before her.

"What?" is his brilliant reply before he looks at the console once more, "You _can't _do that! I wasn't… We're in flight. That is… that is physically impossible! How did-"

"Tell me where I am!" the woman interrupts. "I demand you tell me where I am right now?!"

Frustrated and at the end of his rope the Doctor glares at the woman as he flicks the switches on the console, "Inside the TARDIS."

"The what?"

"The TARDIS." The Doctor repeats as he tries to continue his work but keep his voice calm with the infuriating woman standing before him. He is in no mood to deal with this situation and wants to be done with it as soon as possible.

"The what?!"

"The TARDIS!"

"The what?!"

The Doctor rolls his eyes and glares at the woman now and actually notices her flinch at the anger in his eyes, but is unrelenting in his fury to care much about her fear of him, "It's called the TARDIS. Now stop talking." He quickly gets back to work on figuring out how to send the woman back to wherever she came from and how she got inside the TARDIS in the first place.

"…That's… That's not even a proper word." The woman snaps, apparently not caring that the Doctor told her to be quiet. "You're just saying things."

The Doctor comes out from behind the console and stalks towards the woman, "I told you to stop talking but if you're going to ignore that how about explaining how you got here?!"

The bride gives him a pretty heated glare of her own as she rounds her shoulders and meets his rage head on, "Well, obviously, when _you _kidnapped me!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Who was it?!" she continues as if he hadn't spoken and starts pacing back and forth, "Who's paying you?! Is it Nerys?! Oh my God, she's finally got me back! This has gotten Nerys written all over it."

"To reiterate. I _didn't _do anything." The Doctor growls, "And who the hell is Nerys?!"

The redhead stops pacing and whirls around to face the Doctor once more, "Your best friend!"

"My best friend is lost somewhere in the time stream and I have no idea where he ended up exactly but he'll turn up eventually knowing him. I have no idea who this Nerys person is."

"What?" the bride questions, completely confused by his words.

The Doctor raises a questioning brow as a realization finally dawns on him, "Hold on, wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?"

"I'm going ten pin bowling." She says in a deadpan tone, noticing instantly his confused look as he stares at her. "Why do you think, dumbo?! I was halfway up the aisle! I've been waiting all my life for this! I was just seconds away, and then you, I don't know, you drugged me or something!"

"For the last time, I _haven't _done anything!"

"I'm having the police on you! Me and my husband – as soon as he is my husband – we're going to sue the living backside off you!"

The two glare at each other before the Doctor sighs in frustration and moves back to the console, not wanting to continue this insane conversation anymore – and trying desperately to push down the thoughts of Rose and how she would be able to comfort the distraught woman.

The bride looks around the large space and finally spots the doors behind her down the ramp and races towards them as fast as she can in her dress.

The Doctor notices her movement from the corner of his eye and moves to chase her, "No, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Don't!"

His warning comes too late and the bride throws open the doors and stops dead in her tracks as she stares at the fading nova he is parked nearby. Knowing how much of a shock this is going to be the Doctor - now that some of his anger has faded - comes up behind her slowly and carefully as he stares at the exspance before him, trying his best to not let his sorrow consume him.

"You're in space... Outer space." he says slowly, gaging her reaction to his words. She just continues to stare at the sight, tears in her eyes and a mix of awe and shock on her face, "This is my space ship. It's called the TARDIS."

The bride stands there, her mouth agap as she tries to think of what to say, "How am I breathing?"

"The TARDIS is protecting us."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. You?"

"Donna."

"Human?"

"Yeah. Is that optional?" the bride asks without breaking her line of vision.

The Doctor shrugs with a slight smile on his face though it is so broken compared to his usual one, "Well, it is for me."

"You're an alien."

"Yeah."

The pair stand there silently for a few moments just as the nova finally fades from view and neither want to break the silence between them.

"It's freezing with these doors open."

Taking that as his Que the Doctor slams the doors closed and rushes back to the console and starts working on the problem once more. He notices belatedly that Donna is sluggishly following him, still clearly shocked by the knowledge she's just been given. Not wanting to deal with the culture shock this time the Doctor focuses on the puzzle the universe has given him.

"I don't understand that and I understand _everything. _This can't happen! There is no way a human being can lock onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be..."

Without warning, the Doctor grabs an ophthamoscope from the tool belt on the console and rushes over to Donna and starts shinning it in her eyes much to her chagrin.

"Impossible." he mumbles, lost in his thoughts more than the woman he is studying. "Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic-"

He is cut off mid rant when Donna slaps him is such a way that would make Jackie proud and the Doctor stumbles back in shock, looking at the bride in complete confusion - idly wondering why women keep slapping him.

"What was that for?!"

"Get me to the church!" she screeches.

The Doctor glares at her once more, but this time Donna matches his glare with one of her own. "Right! Fine! I _don't want _you here anyway!" he declares harshly as he moves to the console and starts flipping the switches. "Where is this wedding?"

"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System!" Donna shouts as she doesn't know how specific she has to be for him to be able to get her to her destination. She starts scanning the room once more in case she needs a backup plan. This is when she notices the blue blouse hanging over the railing and marches forward to grab it and wave it at her 'abductor'. "I knew it, acting all innocent! I'm not the first, am I!?"

The Doctor looks up in confusion at her words but when his gaze lands on the blouse, his hearts break all over again and - even through her anger - Donna can see how broken he looks.

"How many women have you abducted?!" she demands, ignoring the man's feelings in belief that he's just lying to her all over again.

"That... That's my w-wife's."

This gives Donna a moment's pause since she didn't expect that answer from him but she presses forward despite herself, "Where is she, then? Popped out for a little space walk?"

The Doctor averts his gaze as the memories of Rose on the beach return to the forefront of his mind and it takes all his willpower to suppress his tears.

"She's gone."

"Gone where?"

"I _lost _her."

Donna stares at him in utter shock, finally realizing the true pain the man before her is in and her heart breaking for him.

"I... I'm sorry..."

The two stand in silence for what feels like an eternity to the pair as both get lost in their thoughts.

After swallowing past the lump in her throat, Donna takes a tentative step forward. "Take me to the church... please."

The Doctor takes the blouse from the redhead and carefully hangs it up on the coat rack he never uses before turning back to her with a mask on his face to internalize his pain once more.

"Right, Chiswick."

* * *

Donna looks out the back window of the taxi just in time to see the blue box she had fled from earlier come out of the sky and bounce off the roof of one of the cars behind her on the motorway.

"You are kidding me." she mumbles as the TARDIS comes alongside her taxi and the doors open to reveal the Doctor holding some piece of string.

"Open the door!" he shouts at her.

"Do what?!"

"Open the door!" the Doctor says again.

"I can't! It's locked!" Donna replies while trying to demonstrate her words by trying in vain to open the locked door.

The Doctor - after struggling for a brief moment - pulls the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and points it at the door, unlocking it and the window, which Donna chooses to open so they can speak a little more clearly to each other.

"Santa's a robot!" is the first thing out of her mouth once the window is fully open and she notices when the Doctor rolls his eyes.

"Donna," he says in the calmest voice he can muster over the rushing wind between them, "Open the door!"

"What for?!"

"You're going to jump!" the Doctor states like it's the most obvious answer in the world.

Donna on the other hand looks at him like he's completely insane - which he somewhat is but she doesn't know him well enough to know the full extent of it. "I'm not blinking flip jumping! I'm _supposed _to be getting married!"

With that statement done the robot accelerates the car and tries to escape with Donna once more but the Doctor is having none of that. He pulls on the string in order to get the TARDIS to accelerate as well - sparks raining down all around the room - and once again pulls up alongside the taxi. Using the sonic he disables the robot so it can do nothing more than drive the taxi in a straight line and focuses solely on Donna again.

"Listen to me." he demands the bride, "You've got to jump!"

"I'm _not _jumping on a motorway!" she argues once again much to the Doctor's frustration, though he fights hard to keep his emotions in check.

"Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good!" the Doctor explains in the simplest terms he can, "Now! Come on!"

"I'm in my wedding dress!"

"Yes! You look lovely!" the Doctor admits. "Come on!"

Hesitating for a moment, Donna opens the door and prepares to jump while the Doctor reaches his hand out to her. However, she can't bring herself to do it as she stares at the speeding motorway below her.

"I can't do it!"

The Doctor looks her square in the eye, his gaze both sincere and determined - he already lost Rose and her entire family, he's not about to lose someone else, not _today. _"Trust me."

"Is that what you said to her!?" Donna presses, "Your wife? You lost her! But did she trust you!?" She knows it is a low blow and that she has been incredibly unfair to his man who's been risking himself to save her but she can't help but wonder. Donna needs this reassurance if she's actually going to make the leap of faith here and jump across to him.

"Yes, she did. She trusted me with everything she is, and Donna, she is _not _dead! She is very much alive. Now, jump!"

Finally having the answer she's looking for, Donna launches herself across the gap towards the Doctor with a scream as he catches her and falls backwards inside the TARDIS. The doors slam shut as the TARDIS takes control and flies them away from the robot that had tried to abduct the bride.

The pair both sigh in relief.

* * *

The pair step out of the TARDIS as the Doctor empties a fire extinguisher inside as smoke comes bellowing outside from within, "The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple hours." this is when he notices the forlorn expression on Donna's face. "You all right?"

"Doesn't matter." she answer solemnly as she crosses her arms over her chest.

The Doctor tugs on his ear nervously, "Did we miss it?"

"Yeah."

Thinking of what Rose would say in this situation, the Time Lord takes a shot in the dark, "You could always book another date."

"Course we can."

"You've still got the honeymoon." he tries again, cursing for once at his inability to talk to normal people.

"It's just a holiday now."

The Time Lord has no idea what to say in response to that and follows as Donna starts moving towards the edge of the roof, considering he has nothing else to do.

"Yeah... Yeah, sorry."

"It's not your fault."

He can't stop the small smile that tugs at his lips, "Oh? That's a change."

"Wish you had a time machine." she says, missing the subtle way the Doctor tenses at her words. "Then we could go back and get it right."

Now normally, he'd take any chance to show off his glorious TARDIS and whisk the silly human to another time period just to show her how real time travel is. However, given the state of the TARDIS and his recent loss, the Doctor is in no mood to do so. There's also the fact that the bride wishes to cross her own timeline which is dangerous on so many levels but he remembers the last time he did it and the horrible consequences that followed.

"Yeah. Yeah... But even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline." he replies. Noticing Donna's look he gives her a half-hearted shrug, "Apparently."

Shaking her head slightly, Donna sits down on the edge of the roof and the Doctor takes off his jacket to put over her shoulders. She looks at it in disbelief.

"God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat." she exclaims as he sits beside her, once again rolling his eyes.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a gold ring - his sleeve sliding down slightly so Donna notices the silver band around his wrist with the intricate design on it. "Oh, and you better put this on."

The redhead glares at the gold band between his fingers, "Oh! Do you have to rub it in?"

"Those creatures can track you." he explains as he takes her hand and slips the ring onto her finger, "This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden. With this ring, I thee bio-damp."

Donna pulls her hand back and stares at the band melancholy. "For better or for worse." she jokes slightly and they both smile at that. "So, come on then. The robot Santas, what are they for?"

"Ah," he says simply, "Your basic robo-scavengers. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas."

"Why? What happened then?"

The Doctor looks at her in disbelief, completely positive that she is just teasing him. The look in her eyes, however, tells him the opposite.

"Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn't notice?"

Donna smiles, "I had a bit of a hangover."

Not knowing what to say in response to that - this woman is good apparently at throwing him off kilter - he turning his gaze back to the city that lay before them and smiles, "I spent Christmas Day just over there," he points at the building he means, "The Powell Estate, with my wife and her family. Though she wasn't my wife at that time, we were still just friends, but still spent Christmas with them... Still... they're gone now."

The bride sees that broken expression on his face again and feels her heart drop in her chest and aching to help this man, though she knows there's nothing she can do.

"Your wife... what was she like?"

A smile spreads across his face as he thinks of his precious girl, "She was so adventurous and spirited that much like me, she could barely stay in one spot for very long. She was always daring to try new things and see new worlds and people that I felt like there wasn't enough places in the universe to take her... She was brave too, almost to a fault. She would stand up to the fiercest of foes and risk her life to save me or innocent people that we came across in our travels. She always wanted to help people and see the best in them, even if some of them didn't deserve it... She was... was..."

"You mentioned before... that your wife... that you lost her, but that she's still alive, what did you mean?" Donna questions, a single tear dripping from her eye as she listens to the words of this woman who is apparently gone from this place.

"... She's trapped... while we were saving the world, she got trapped in another dimension... almost identical to this one... there's no way to get her back without destroying both worlds and killing everyone... And she wouldn't want me to do that... She was always making sure I didn't do stuff like that, kept me in line... made me better..."

"She sounds... wonderfully." somehow that word didn't seem to do justice to the woman he just described but Donna can think of no other.

"Question is," the Doctor says, not able to handle anymore of this conversation unless he wants to utterly shut down. "What do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS?" he mulls it over for a fraction of a second, "I don't know. What's your job?"

"I'm a secretary."

The Doctor pulls the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and scans her, "It's weird. I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you'r not important."

"Your wife, did she ever punch you in the face?" Donna questions, clearly irritated now.

"No." the Doctor answers while still scanning his companion, "Though her mother did slap me several times."

"I can't imagine why. Stop bleeping me!" with that the bride slaps the sonic away from her and the Doctor pouts as he tucks it back inside he pocket.

"What kind of secretary?" he continues.

"I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping." Donna says with a wishful smile. "I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought I'm never going to fit in here. And then he made me coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries coffee. And Lance, he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me. But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone was really snotty too. So, that's how it started, him and me. One cup of coffee. That was it."

"When was this?"

"Six months ago."

The Doctor blinks in surprise. He knew for a fact that he wanted to be with Rose for the rest of her life the moment he met her in that basement which is why he did everything in his power to get her to stay with him, but he knows that most people aren't like that, or at least not on Earth, "Bit quick to get married."

"Well, he insisted." Donna replies. "And he nagged, and he nagged me. And he just wore me down. And then finally, I just gave in."

"What does HC Clements do?" the Doctor questions, trying to bring the focus back to the issue at hand.

"Oh, security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths."

That gets the gears turning in the Doctor's mind. "Keys."

"Anyways, enough of my CV." Donna says as she gets to her feet. "Come on, it's time to face the consequences." Once he's back on his feet she hands him his coat and starts heading towards the fire escape a little ways away from them. "Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy."

"Yeah, I'm not from Mars." the Doctor corrects for what feels like the hundredth time.

"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be so heartbroken."

* * *

The Doctor and Donna step outside the TARDIS and she is surprised - though she really shouldn't be given everything she's seen today - to see her family home just there before her with her parents inside, hugging. The redhead turns back to the Doctor to find him smiling at her.

"There we go. Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything." he says as he strokes the panels of the TARDIS that are slightly charged but nothing more.

Donna chuckles, "More than I've done."

Whipping the sonic out of his pocket he scans her over and looks at the results, "No, all the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine."

"Yeah, but apart from that, I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day... Sort of."

The Doctor looks at her sadly, "I couldn't save him."

"He deserved it." Donna returns hotly. She sees the knowing look on the Doctor's face and sighs. "No, he didn't."

"No, he didn't."

"Not only all that stuff... but I also accused the man who saved my life multiple times of being my kidnapper in the first place. Sorry about that, yeah?"

It's the Doctor's turn to chuckle. "I can't fault you for thinking that given the situation you found yourself in."

They stand in silence for a long moment.

"I'd better get inside. They'll be worried." Donna says while gesturing to the house.

"Best Christmas present they could have." the Doctor states before remembering something. "Oh no. I forgot, you hate Christmas."

"Yes, I do." the bride admits once more.

The Doctor gives her a mischievous smile that has Donna raising a questioning brow.

"Even if it snows?" he asks before reaching inside the door of the TARDIS. A second later a blue light shoots up into the sky and then white, fluffy snowflakes start showering down on them.

Donna both laughs and gasps in disbelief.

"I can't believe you did that!" she gasps.

"Oh, basic atmospheric excitation."

She turns back to him with a smile. "Merry Christmas."

"And you." he replies. "So, what will you do with yourself now?"

"Not getting married, for starters. And I'm not going to temp anymore." she says as she tries to think of what she's going to do now. "I don't know. Travel. See a bit more of planet Earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something."

"I think you'll be fantastic." he says sincerely.

Over their day together, the Doctor has come to both like and respect the woman before him, even considering her his friend now - and he's pretty sure that she feels the same towards him - but he's not ready to travel with anyone at the moment or he would offer it to Donna in a heartbeat. But he just needs time right now to deal with what he's just lost.

"Thanks... just promise me you'll take care of yourself."

He gives her a lopsided grin, "I do my best."

"Doctor... I know you're not ready yet... but find someone..." Donna says slowly, "Find someone to travel with you... cause you need someone. Someone who can stop you... keep you in line, like your wife did. A friend you can turn to."

He smiles, "I will... when I'm ready."

She smiles in return before gathering her courage, "Your wife... what was her name?"

His face falls as he thinks of his precious girl, "Rose... her name is Rose."

"Rose." Donna says like it is the most sacred name ever spoken. "Beautiful name."

The Doctor smiles again and turns to head inside the TARDIS, "Goodbye, Donna Noble."

She hurries after him slightly, "Doctor!" Waiting until he stops and turns back to her, Donna smiles uncertainly, "Am I ever going to see you again?"

For the first time, the Doctor gives her a smile that is more like the ones he had when with Rose, one of the manic grins he gets whenever doing something that makes him happy, "If I'm lucky."

Before she can reply he disappears inside the TARDIS and at a moment the engines start and the TARDIS shoots up into the sky and disappears into the the night. Donna laughs to herself and then turns to head inside her house, hoping that maybe someday she will see that madman again.


	3. Gridlock

**Evermore**

**Disclaimer****\- I own nothing from Doctor Who, everything belongs to BBC. I make no profit from this and am merely using the characters and content for fun.**

**Hello beautiful people! Here is the next chapter and boy was the last chapter difficult to write. I wanted to keep it as close to the original as possible without it being a carbon copy while also adding in what the Doctor is going through after losing his wife and I thought that might shift the dynamic between him and Donna if only slightly – thinking that Donna would sympathize with the Time Lord more after finding out what he just lost and that the Doctor would be in a dark state of mind given his loss.**

**I probably should have mentioned that I wouldn't be doing full episodes either, just the parts I think are vital to the story. So, there's that too.**

**Anyways, as I said, until I get to the main 'part' of the story I will be skipping to episodes that are only vital to the plot – giving hints that about what's really going on throughout. I wonder if any of you will figure it out. So this one is another short chapter, but just because it is only setting things up for later.**

**Anyways, please enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think.**

* * *

**2: Gridlock**

The Doctor and Martha step out of the TARDIS, with the Time Lord smiling at his surroundings and Martha frowns as she zips up her jacket more, rain lightly hitting her head.

"Oh, that's nice." she grumbles, glaring at the sky, "Time Lord version of dazzling."

The Doctor waves a dismissive hand her way, "Nah, a bit of rain never hurt anyone." the action gives Martha another glimpse of that silver band around his wrist and the medical student is once again curious about what it is and why he's so secretive about it. "Come on, let's get under cover!"

Not even giving her a chance to respond the Doctor takes off running for a nearby overhanging and the medical huffs in annoyance but does chase after him.

Once they are under the cover Martha takes in her surroundings - not at all impressed with them - and sends a glare at the Doctor, "Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon."

The Doctor hears the anger in her voice and rolls his eyes in response before looking around in search of something and spotting the monitor, "Hold on, hold on. Let's have a look."

Pulling the sonic screwdriver from his pocket he quickly gets the monitor working and the screen flickers to life with the a blonde news reporter appearing on screen, "And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway."

The screen shows a clip of Manhattan and cars flying over them and the Doctor smiles at the memory of the place he came with his Rose, "Oh, that's more like it. That's the view we had last time." He moves away from the monitor, completely missing the suspicious glare Martha gives him, as he looks up at the buildings and sky, "This must be the lower levels, down in the base of the tower. Some sort of under-city."

"You brought me to the slums?" Martha gripes, annoyance on her face. She definitely wasn't expecting this for her first date with the Time Lord and she wonders why he's doing this when they had such a 'good' time on the moon. She wonders why he suddenly seems so distant from her.

"Much more interesting." the Doctor brushes off, not at all interested in getting into the 'domestic' stuff with the medical student. The only person he wanted - and had done - that with is no longer here. He just wanted to have someone here to impress, to stop him as Donna had put it. "It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."

Despite herself, Martha smiles at the Doctor. "You'd enjoy anything."

"That's me." the Doctor says in a even tone, not really listening to her anymore as he gets lost in his memories for a moment. "Ah, it's stopped raining. Better and better."

Martha glances out, noticing he's right but something he said earlier still has her attention, "When you say 'last time', was that you and your 'former' companion?" she questions, anger seeping into her tone because she doesn't get why the Doctor won't tell her more about this woman or why he keeps saying that Martha would never take her place. She wonders who this woman is and what she did to make the Doctor act this way.

He instantly tenses at the question, his back ramrod straight, "Um... yeah, yeah... it was... yeah."

Anger overtakes Martha as she glares at the Time Lord, not understanding why he's closing off from her again, "You're taking me to the same planets you took _her_?"

"What's wrong with that?" the Doctor asks in return, hearing the tone and not liking it in the slightest.

Martha crosses her arms and turns away from him, "Nothing." she spits back at him, "Just ever heard of the word rebound."

With their backs to the monitor neither notice when the screen switches from the news report and the words 'Bad Wolf' appear on the screen before it flickers and Rose is on the screen, calling for the Doctor but the sound is muted so he is unable to hear her before the screen switches off entirely a few moments later.

* * *

The Doctor glares out at the scenery before him and comes to his decision. "If you won't take, I'll go down on my own." he states before moving to the middle of the car and taking out the sonic.

Brannigan and Valerie both look at him in confusion.

"What do you think you're doing?" the cat asks.

The Doctor uses the sonic to open the hatch in the floor and smiles at the two in the front, one of his manic grins as the plan begins formulating in his head, "Finding my own way. I usually do."

"Capsule opens." the computer announces.

A car stops beneath them and the Doctor's smile grows, "Here we go." He takes off his coat and throws it to Valerie, "Look after this." he looks at it longingly, "I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat." Shaking his head he moves and sits on the edge of the trap door.

The mother's eyes widen as she looks at the Doctor, "But you can't jump!"

The Doctor smiles at her, "If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now, I'm having kittens."

"This Martha." Brannigan says with a hint of pride in his voice. "She must mean an awful lot to you."

The Doctor shrugs and looks up at them and for the first time they see the soul deep pain within his chocolate brown eyes, "Hardly know her. I was too busy showing off. And I lied to her. Couldn't help it, just lied. I already lost my precious girl. Just met Martha... Bye then."

With that he drops onto the car below them and works on getting the trapdoor open while Brannigan and Valerie watch him from within their car.

"He's completely insane!" Valerie announces.

"That." her husband agrees, "And a bit magnificent!"

* * *

"The Macra used to be the scourge of the Galaxy." the Doctor explains to the man in the car with him as his mind races. "Gas. They feed off gas, the filthier the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food."

"They don't exactly look like empire builders to me." the man says doubtfully.

"Well, that was billions of years ago. Billions. They must have devolved down the years. Now they're just beasts. But they're still hungry and my friend is down there."

There is a clang on the roof and both men stand up and move away.

"Oh, it's like New Times Square in here, for goodness sake!" the man grumbles as a cat nurse drops in, gun on her hip.

The Doctor smiles manically, "I've invented a sport."

The nurse smiles at him, "Doctor, you're a hard man to find."

"No guns!" the owner of the car declares, "I'm not having guns!"

The cat looks at him in annoyance, "I only brought this in case of pirates." she snipes before turning back to the Doctor, "Doctor, you've got to come with me."

He eyes her suspiciously, "Do I know you?"

She smiles bashfully, "You haven't aged at all. Time has been less kind to me."

His eyes widen as he finally recognizes her.

"Novice Hame!" he declares before hugging her. Then he remembers what happened the last time they saw each other and pushes her away, "No, hold on, get off. Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation."

"I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, for so many years, under his guidance." Hame explains. "And if you come with me, I might finally redeem myself."

"I'm not going anywhere." the Doctor shouts. "You've got Macra living underneath this city. Macra! And if my friend's still alive, she's stuck down there."

"You've got to come with me right now." Hame insists, grabbing his arm.

He pulls his arm away from her, "No, no, no, you're coming with _me. _We've got three passengers now."

She looks at him sadly and pleadingly, "I'm sorry, Doctor. But the situation is far worse than you can imagine." She grabs his wrist and lifts her own to reveal a teleport. "Transport."

"Don't you dare! Don't you dare!" the Doctor's words come too late and they find themselves disappearing from the car. The Man looks around in confusion and turns back to the steering wheel. He raises a questioning brow when the words 'Bad Wolf' flash across his screen for a moment before disappearing as quickly as they came.

* * *

"How much air's left?" Cheen asks as she stares at her husband.

Milo glances at the monitor. "Two minutes."

"There's always the Doctor." Martha says in a confident tone. "That friend of mine. He might think of something."

The man looks at her with pity in his eyes, "Martha, no one's coming."

"He looked kind of nice." Cheen adds unhelpfully.

"He's a bit more than that." the medical student replies hotly.

Cheen smiles, "Are you and him?"

"I think he likes me... but someone in his past... someone he won't talk about. She hurt him badly and now he's scared to let people in again." Martha explains, remembering that look on his face when he mentioned this former companion.

"I never asked. Where's home?" Cheen questions, seeing the pain on the young woman's face.

"It's a long way away. I didn't really think." Martha replies. "I just followed the Doctor, and they don't even know where I am. My mum and dad. If I died here, they'd never know."

"So... um... who is he, then, this Doctor?" Milo asks this time.

Martha really mulls this question over in her head, "I don't know. Well, not really. There's so much he never says."

"But that means that the only hope right now is a complete stranger! Well, that's no use!" Cheen cries.

"But, it is, though." Martha argues. "Because you haven't seen the things he can do. You don't know what he will do to keep me safe. Honestly, just trust me, both of you. You've got your faith, you've got your songs and your hymns, and I've got the Doctor."

The couple glance at each other before nodding in agreement.

"Right." Milo says before turning back to the controls. He turns everything back on, the roars starting up again outside.

"Systems back online." comes the computerized voice.

"Good luck." Milo breaths.

"You to." the medical student says.

* * *

Martha races up the stairs to the senate, her heart pounding in her chest with excitement at seeing the Doctor again. It had only been a few hours but it had felt like an eternity to her and she can't wait to see him again.

"Doctor!?" she shouts as she runs into the room, stopping when she sees the skeletons everywhere around her. Her heart aches and bile rises up in her throat at the sight and she wonders what could have happened to these people.

"Over here." the Doctor calls back.

Another smile splits Martha's face as she runs in the direction of the voice, "Doctor! What happened out there?" she stops when she reaches where he was and spots the Face of Boe lying on the floor before the Doctor. "What's that?"

"It's the Face of Boe." the Doctor replies, not taking his eyes off his old friend, "It's all right. Come and say hello." Martha kneels beside him and he sees the way she eyes the nurse questioningly. "And this is Hame. She's a cat. Don't worry."

"Right." Martha breaths.

"He's the one who saved you, not me." the Doctor interrupts her thoughts.

"My lord gave his life to save the city, and now he's dying." Hame chokes out, tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

"No, don't say that." the Doctor denies, not willing to lose another person, "Not old Boe. Plenty of life left."

_'It is good the breath the air once more.' _Boe says with a nostalgic tone.

"Who is he?" Martha questions.

The Doctor shakes his head helplessly, "I don't even know. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."

Boe chuckles, _'Everything has it's time. You know that, old friend, better than most.'_

"The legend says more." Hame continues.

"Don't!" the Doctor interrupts. "There's no need for that."

"It says the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller." Hame presses, knowing her lord doesn't have much time left.

"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?" the Doctor tries.

Boe chuckles once more, _'It is funny you say that Doctor, because I have two secrets to share with you.'_

"I don't need them." the Doctor argues fruitlessly.

_'I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor.'_

The Time Lord tries to ignore the shocked look Martha gives him and the ache in his chest from the Face of Boe's words.

"That's why we have to survive. Both of us. Don't go."

_'I must. But know this, Time Lord.' _Boe pauses taking a deep breath. _'The Wolf will howl again. And...' _He takes another breath, "You. Are. Not. Alone."

With his final words spoken Boe breathes his final breath and his eyes slip closed. Hame breaks down crying while the Doctor hangs his head mournfully.

* * *

The Doctor pauses a moment, glancing back over his shoulder back at where the Face of Boe is lying and Hame is still sobbing at the loss of her friend, eyes narrowed suspiciously but he sees nothing out of the ordinary.

"Doctor?" Martha calls out from where she waits by the door, curious as to why he stopped when he was so insistent that they leave.

"Coming." He replies before he takes one last look around the room and heads towards Martha.

The pair leave and Haine tries her best to regain herself and set about what she told the Doctor she would do when something moves behind her. Whirling around to face whatever it is that has come out of the shadows, Hame lifts her gun and points it at the figure with narrowed eyes. However, her eyes widen and she lowers the gun when she sees who's standing before her.

"…You…?" Hame whispers.

"Hello."

* * *

"All closed down." the Doctor says as he looks around pharmacy town.

"Happy?" Martha jokes lightly.

"Happy happy." the man returns before tucking his hands in his pockets. "New New York can start again. And they've got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs. Cats in charge. Come on, time we were off."

He starts heading towards the TARDIS with Martha walking beside him, worrying her bottom lip. She eyes him carefully.

"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe? The wolf will howl again? What wolf?" she asks.

The Doctor becomes tense, his face harsh as he stares forward without any light in his eyes, "Doesn't matter. He was wrong. The wolf is gone."

"What wolf though?" Martha tries to understand.

"Doesn't matter." he bites between clenched teeth before walking even faster to his destination.

Martha, realizing that it is a touchy subject decides to try something else. "Then what did he mean when he said 'you're not alone'?"

"I don't know." the Doctor breathes, the anger draining out of him as quickly as it had come.

"You've got me. Is that what he meant?" she asks, her heart fluttering in hope.

"I don't think so. Sorry."

Martha notices the way he starts playing with that silver band around his wrist and has to bite back the question of what it is since he reacted badly the last time she asked.

"Then what?" she breaths.

"Doesn't matter." the Doctor says again. "Back to the TARDIS, off we go."

He starts heading to the TARDIS and Martha glares at him, straightening herself defiantly. She's not letting him avoid her questions anymore. She grabs a nearby chair and puts it in the center of the alley before sitting down and crossing her arms and legs, glaring at the Time Lord. Said Time Lord looks at her lazily, almost annoyed.

"All right, are you staying?" he questions, but to the medical student it sounds more like he is really considering just leaving her here and going on his merry way. She sure hopes not but she isn't going to back down this time.

"Till you talk to me properly, yes." she snaps, fire in her eyes, "He said last of your kind. What does that mean?"

"It really doesn't matter."

"You don't talk. You never say. Why not?"

He actually glares at her, "Because some things are not yours to know, Martha."

"If you want me to get back in the TARDIS right now, you have to give me something. I can't just go running off with a _stranger."_

He glares right back at her, "I lied to you, because I liked it." he bites out bitterly. "I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath that burnt orange sky. That I'm not alone in this universe. I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the _last _of the Time Lords."

Martha's face morphs from one of anger to one of sympathy as she leans forward in her chair, part of her giddy about the fact that he's finally opening up to her.

"What happened?" she questions.

The Doctor debates with himself but knows he can't just abandon Martha here - Rose would never forgive him for that - and even if he doesn't want to talk about this, it's the only way to get Martha back on the TARDIS. He moves forward and pulls another chair forward.

"There was a war. A Time War. My people fought against a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends... my wife is gone now... even that sky."

Martha notices the way he almost breaks down at the mention of his wife and her heart breaks for him. Losing the person you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with would be devastating to anyone. To lose them in a war such as that, she can't even imagine the pain he must be feeling at such a loss. But now that she does know, she can start to help him recover. Move on.

"Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song..."


End file.
